Panda Hero
by Sabby-Sama
Summary: Most of Rin's life has been spent living in the slums. When a strange new and addicting drug comes around called Panda, it affects a loved one. And brings out a strange girl called the Panda Hero,the # 1 distibuter of the drug. Is she a friend or foe?
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings:** Future reference for mentions of drugs, alchohol, violence, language, death.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything having to do with the song/lyrics of Panda Hero. Or Vocaloid. I basically own nothing here; shows you how poor I am, right?

* * *

><p><strong>Panda Hero<strong>

Chapter 1: Intro

A majority of her young life was spent living in filth.

Whether it was in actual garbage or the poor excuse of other humans.

Ever since Rin was seven, she's been living in the grimiest, most dangerous slums her city had to offer with her older brother, Rei.

It's been eight years since she moved in to join the slum rats;literally and figuratively.

"Rei, Rei, i'm scared." Rin whimpered, shaking her brother awake.

Waking up to Rin's nudging, her brother groggily sat up from his lumpy cot and held her in his lap and rocked her back and forth.

"Another bad dream?" He asked softy not breaking his soothing rocking motions. The girl nodded her blonde head and buried her face in her older brother's shirt.

Ever since the second night they took residence in their slum clan (for she had been so frightened to sleep the first night), Rin would sleep fitfully and wake up from nightmares in a cold sweat. And every night she would go to her brother for comfort and fall asleep again in his arms.

The thing with these nightmares; they were REAL. They wouldn't stop and go away once Rin opened her eyes. Her nightmares were reality.

What the hardest thing for Rin was, was that she was an orphan-her and her brother. But that wasn't the beginning of it. She had no memory whatsoever of her parents. Not any memories of baking cookies on Christmas eve, birthday parties, and not even of being hugged and loved by one of her parents. She didn't even know what they looked like.

All she knew was that their life had been a hard one, but a happy one filled with love and belonging. Atleast that's what Rei, her older brother by three years would say.

Each and everytime Rin was feeling down in the dumps and that the world had servered her crap on a shattered platter, Rei would tell her that he loved her and that no matter what, he would always be there for her. To soothe her and cheer her up. He was the only blood she had left, the only one who could talk to her and be her best friend and guardian at the same time.

Rei remembered every single thing about their parents, from their favorite colors to the jobs that they had.

And how they had died and left them orphaned.

Rin knew this, but never forced answer's out of him. She knew how touchy the subject was and how he would rather not talk about it, aknowledging that everything was in fact true and had happened.

The girl alway's fantasized about her parents though, and how they were when they were alive. She would imagine that her mother shared her hair color, canary yellow. Her eye color would be inherited from her father (who would be tall and strong and protective, but also a softie on the inside).

When she was alone at 'home' (she would never describe aloud this place as home. Thats how much she despised it.) she would create little stories with her imagination about her life before she turned seven and the world that seemed so large to her seven year old self, violently turned upside down.

One of her favorites was when she came home from a place called school (a word she had heard other slum kids talk about, but had no memory of) with a report card. All A's. Her mother was so proud of her she gave her a big bear hug, lifted her up and swung her around in circles as they both laughed and giggle gleefuly. Her father cam home from work and she would run up to him.

"Daddy! Look!" She would say while jumping up and down unable to contain her excitment. Her father would take a look at the card shoved in his face and he would smile and kiss her forehead and call her his little smart princess.

Rei would come out from his room, curious as to all the ruckus and then ruffle her hair playfully and let her play with him in his room.

Almost all the time during her day dreams she would wonder why she didn't remember anything from when she was young. She would have been old enough to clearly remember _quite_ a bit according to the other slum kids.

Sooner or later, Rei would walk back in from god knows where, and ask her why the long face. She would explain, her little stories and about her memory. He would frown and with a serious face would say, "Please promise me that you will do your best at getting an education, Rin." she would nod gravely understanding how important an education was if you wanted to get out of a place like this. Her brother was the perfect example, having to give up school after their parents died and be the independant older role model at uch a young age and do his best at raising Rin. She didn't want to be like him. She had her whole young life ahead of her.

Everyday, waking up from her horrendous dreams, she would look up at the blue sky-grayed from pollution and not letting the sun peek through-she would silently promise herself to do her best and have her and Rei out of this hole in the wall and support _him_ for once.

She smiled faintly in her sleep. She will get them out of here, so they can live as a proper, happy family for once.

* * *

><p><strong>I should really stop starting more projects when I already have others in effect orz I just couldn' help it though! This idea popped into my head, and I just had to write it down!**

**I should clear things up; Rei is just an O.C I created. Nothing special. (So those of you who are like 'Where's Len? He should be her brother!" Don't worry, he plays a bigger part in this story, trust me.) And this story is inspired by the song Panda Hero sung by Gumi. Not sure who the writter is of the song, but they're awesome and the song belongs to them. I'll be writting this story with the help of various lyric alternations of the song, both English and Japanese.**

**Well I hope you liked this little teaser/Intro! Review for more and tell me what you thought. I have big plans and promises for this story ;D**

**~Sabby-Sama**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

First Impressions

The sun had risen and was now residing somewhere in the middle of the polluted sky, hardly any sunlight pertruding from the malicious clouds. As far as Rin's guesses go, for Rei had a watch and was now gone, it was sometime between ten o'clock and noon.

Rin just layed there stifly on her cot, gazing up at the sky with a blank expression.

The slums that she lived in where hard to describe. The entire area, which was quite large, was classified as the "Slum's" but each portion, every nook and crany of it was labeled and 'owned' according to clan.

Each clan would have as few as 20 people in it, or as many as 150. Each one was almost like a gang, but not quite.

In Rin's case, she lived in the clan called Malevolent. Malevolent was the biggest, most dangerous of the other twenty or so clans in the Slums.

Each clan wasn't very. . . friendly, with each other to put it simply. Like gangs, they fought each other to gain dominance, not to mention a handful of people in the clans were drug users and heavy drinkers or smokers.

Not just any one was an official member of the clan or 'the higher up's'. Some people only lived within the clan because they had no where else to go. And picking to live in Malevolent was the smartest choice Rei had made for him and Rin; they were guaranteed protection from other bloodthirsty, jealous clans.

Each clan was like a tiny town, or a big village. They had their own reserved living areas and an area that was almost like a town square, but it isn't as noble and independant like you think. These are the slums we're talking about; dark, dank, poor, scary.

With Malevolent, their town square was basically a large warehouse in the center of their 'society'. They would have little 'meetings'; not like many people usually went, so it was mostly a hangout for the bravest residents of the clan. Like Rei who would drag along Rin, hating to have her being alone lon ger than necessary.

I know what you're thinking, "Why would he drag his sister to something so dangerous?"

Well, it's because it's not as dangerous as everyone thinks. The people who are usually there are actually decent compared to others in the clan. And for the toughest clan, they had welcomed the two orphans with open arms and kind of in a way cared for them ever since, less now than in the beginning, but they weren't completely forgotten.

On to the living area's. Out stretching from the town square, dubbed homebase or HQ, were cramped, winding and considerably dark alleyways. Some people lived in the alleyways, sleeping on the cold, hard, cracked and uneven pavement. While others resided in the small one-room stone rooms that were opened to the rest of the alley by one wall.

Rin and her brother were one of the unfortunate souls who lived in these alleyways, off into a corner under a tin awning belonging to one of the house's which is where one of Rei's few friends, Kaito, lived. Kaito was the one who let them live near his home providing them with cots that many other people in the alleys didn't have the luxury of.

Rin turned her head to glance at the empty cot beside her and sighed. She had no idea where Rei would go before she awoke, or why. Most of the time he would return late at night or on rare occasions, pop up during the middle of the day. Rin didn't dare question where he went. It was a part of their silent agreement of personal space.

Suddenly, Rin sat up on alert of footsteps behind her. You can never be too safe in the Slums. She turned slightly and lifted a hand in a silent greeting at the familiar face.

"Hey kiddo." the blue haired man said gently with a smile. Rin nodded.

"Your brother left already?" with another nod from Rin, he sighed and crossed his arms. "That's Rei. When you need him, he's no where to be found. When you want him out of your buisness he seems to be everywhere." the man chuckled softly. Rin stayed quiet.

Rin was suspicious that Kaito knew where her brother would disappear to, which made her distrust him even more. She was his sister and she had the right to know where he disappeared to! But of course, she didn't say anything knowing it would be an inappropriate time.

A silence as the man looked up at the sky looking down at them from the brick and gray stoned walls.

"Why do you need Rei, Kaito?" Rin asked cautiously. Even though Kaito was the one who cared for them since they came to live in this clan-Kaito being five years older than Rei and also orphaned-she was still wary of the man. Even after eight years she couldn't trust any outsiders, only confinding to Rei.

Kaito smiled sadly at her tone. He understood where she was coming from, but she's been around him-more or less-for years. "Nothing big, but we have a newcomer who wants in and I need his help in checking out the kids background." Rin's ears perked at the word 'kid'.

She's always tried to make friends with the other kids her age in the clan but it seemed like they already had their group of friends and Rin just couldn't find her way in and fit among the others. Just like a puzzle piece that accidently got mixed in to another puzzle box where it didn't belong.

Trying to not appear too interested, she started to pick the dirt from under her bitten nails and calmly asked "What do you mean by a 'kid'?" all too curious. The girl didn't want to get her hopes up about the newcomer being too young to be a friend.

"Teenager. Says he's 15." Kaito shrugged passively. Rin's heart started to beat rapidly with excitment. He was her age!

Turning around from her seated position to face Kaito more clearly, she murmered nervously still looking downwards,"I c-could. . .help since Rei's not here, if you want. . ."

Kaito beamed at her. Maybe she was finally coming out of her shell! Kaito nodded joyfully, making his bangs flip and expose a vertical scar on his forehead.

"Course you can!" he jutted out a hand to help up Rin but she ignored his gesture leaving him standing there awkwardly with his arm outstretched and raised herself up from her cot. He withdrew his hand understandingly.

"Follow me this way."

Her curiousity over ruled her timidness and she obeyed.

Kaito walked down the alley with Rin following from a distance behind him. The passage being too narrow to stand beside him with a suitable space in between.

You wouldn't tell by looking at her, but Rin was dreadfully nervous, but exciteded all together.

Her brother would do these questionings regularly when he was around at the time and from what he told her, it seemed almost fun. Not to mention that if it went smoothly and this new kid got accepted she would have a new friend and wouldn't be so lonely anymore!

After about ten minutes of walking down the alley; ten minutes of Kaito chattering loudly to her from her spot far behind him and occasionaly saying a greeting or two to other people moping about looking like they were in a lost daze, they made it to HQ.

Waiting for her to catch up only to realize she was content with where she was, he opened the beaten, wooden door (With the go-ahead nod from the two armed clan guards on opposite sides of the door) and held it open for Rin. With a flourish of his arm, she hurried into the familiar warehouse shying away from the guards that made her feel uneasy.

Blinking a couple of times to get used to the difference of lighting, she squinted in the dimly light room.

Her eyes roamed over the familiar atmosphere searching for the questionee.

The familiar, old, red and battered couch sat off against a wall to the right, a heavy wood coffee table sat in front of it as usual. When she would sit-and sink- into the ancient couch next to Rei she would be mesmerized by the marks on the coffee table. Each time she sat there, she would try to create a picture by connecting scrapes and scratches formed by pocket knives to burn marks from snubbing out cigarettes.

Diagonal from the couch, against the wall currently in front of Rin was the makeshift bar. The wooden tabletop of the counter was also destroyed, and included some holes with splintered edges near the bottom formed from the kicks of angry drunks. A book shelf behind it held various bottles of cheap alchohol.

She knew the room like the back of the room, but that didn't conquer the feeling of disgust and intimidation.

In the center of the room was a poker table where bets of _all_ kinds were made. Rin shivered at the thought.

Her eyes were drawn to a stray armchair placed half-assed against another wall. Her _favorite_ thing in the room was the flickering pink neon sign of a bunny girl's silhouette from Playboy. She looked at it with a grimace. Next to the sign was injection needles (no doubt used and disease riden) all stuck in a dart board yellowed from age. The room contained no windows, the only lights coming from the neon bunny girl and a single dimly lit lightbulb from the middle of the ceiling. The walls were made of the familiar gray stone of the Slums.

The orange dog-shaped radio at the edge of the bar's counter was unusually silent compared to it's usual annoying white noise.

This was the main hangout room of the HQ.

And it was empty.

Kaito came up from behind her and startled her, breaking her out of her thoughts. "He's back here." And with that the man pulled back a frayed and washed-out curtain covering an open doorway and disappeared behind it. Rin followed carefully.

She always knew there was a room behind the curtain but she's never gone behind it, or was ever told what layed beyond it. She clenched her fists at her sides.

A small cold room, surrounded with stone walls was what rin noticed first. It was dark, the only light filtering in eerily from the slightly pulled to the side curtain behind her. There was a dinky little aluminum table in the middle; that she could tell from the reflection it gave from the minuscule amount of light.

Something told her this might not be so fun. It was actually kind of scary.

Rin could see the outline of Kaito's crossed arms out of the corner of her eye standing off to the side, his dark blue eyes gleaming.

A sound from behind the table alerted her. It sounded like a low whistle.

She noticed a shadowy figure she hadn't seen before when observing the room. The figures build wasn't small and scrawny, but it wasn't big and muscular either. It was about in between.

A shiver shot through Rin and she froze when the shadow lurched to the side slightly and spoke in a way that sounded like the figure was grinning.

"Hey there, cutie." And the shadow leaned forward to have his face illuminated by the light.

* * *

><p><strong>AAAAAAAND-CLIFF HANGER! xD<strong>

**I was extremely happy with the reviews I got on the last chapter so I worked as hard, and as fast as I could( SIX HOURS! *dies*) to write this next chapter! I made this one a bit longer than the last. In this chapter we got a bit of explaining going on so you have a better picture of the Slums and HQ(Anyone whose listened to the song would understand the description of HQ ;D). And oh! Kaito! I included him aswell in this story. I might add some other Vocaloids to the story also, but they might not have as big of a role. Hmm, lets see what else. . .Right! I would like to thank one of the anon reviewers especially as well as **Morrumotto-chi!** One thing I hate about Anons is that I can't shoot them a Private Message to thank them personally! So i'll do it right here, So Anon, if your reading!;**

**I'm glad you liked the first chapter so much! Well, you've been waiting, and Tada! here you have it! I know, they have such a sad life. And it'll get deeper as the story progresses. Thank you so much for your Review!**

**When the next chapter is going to be up, I don't know. It all depends on Reviews; they feed my fingers and give them energy! So leave a review and tell me what you thought!**

**Till next time,**

**Sabby-Sama**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter: 3**

The Flirt

Kaito chuckled. "Rin," he said after he was finished,"meet Len." the man introduced them.

The boy, Len, winked at Rin. Rin bristled and paled. She was always uncomfortable when people were so. . .straight forward like that. It was bad enough she got hassled whenever she quickly walked by a group of perverted men. After all, she was a stunningly beautiful girl. But they knew better than to lay a finger on her.

And now here was Len, a blonde haired blue-eyed boy her age who she was no doubt going to see daily from now on. She added another person on her list to avoid.

"What's the matter blondie? Did my sexyness make you speechless?" Len asked cockily while the dinky light illuminated his lazy smile making him look even more disturbingly seductive than Rin was comforatble with.

Seeing how bothered Rin was, and knowing about the lewd comments men would make about her, Kaito turned serious and slammed his palm onto the top of the table. The sound reverberated in the tiny room, immedietly wiping off Len's pleased smirk.

"Enough chitchat. Why do you want to live in Malevolent?" Kaito demanded with a sneer. He already disliked Len. The blonde boy had gonetoo far in making his best friend's little sister feel uncomfortable.

Rin flinched at the loudness of Kaito's voice and at how sudden the cheery man turned angry. It was the first time she saw Kaito like this. She shyly rubbed her arm, a nervous habit and avoided the hard gaze Len was boring into her.

Len's eyes flickered to the blue haired interrogator.

"I'm orphaned." Len said, throwing an attitude back in Kaito's face. At the slight tinge of sadness Rin heard under his tone, she immedietly felt empathy. God knew (if he even exsisted in a cruel place like this) she was in his shoes once and knew exactly how it felt, right down to the slight bitterness at the universe.

Before Kaito could open his mouth to ask what happened to his parents, Len knew what he was going to ask by the way Kaito's face softened. He answered his unspoken question.

"Some bastard slum rats murdered them." Len said spat, rage suddenly appearing in his soft blue eyes that were once teasing only two minutes ago.

Len stood up abruptly, knocking back his chair. Kaito was unaffected by the sudden outburst, but Rin was terrified.

"They were shot MULTIPLE times, as if once wasn't enough. But no, the bastards had to drag it out, make my parents, the only people I had left, SUFFER." Len was shouting now, and his soft blue eyes were now darkened with fury.

Len lifted the small aluminum table like it was weightless and tossed it in the corner, teeth bared, face reddened and veins bulging in his neck.

Rin wanted to leave NOW but she was too frightened and froze. She watched in horror as Len advanced towards Kaito with a finger jabbing the blue haired mans chest.

"So here I am, not even one fifth into my life and i'm MISERABLE and HEARTBROKEN. My whole life crumbled in the small amount of time it takes to pull a trigger." Rin saw Kaito fail at surpressing a shudder. She wasn't sure if Len was scaring him, or if Lens words pulled violently at his heart strings.

"And now, I'm alone! I want in not because i'd be living on the streets, but I want REVENGE." Rin gasped. Len wanted to join Malevolent to partake in the slum war's and kill his parent's murderer's. A 15 year old, carrying a gun and actually killing people was unbelievable to her.

Even if it was Len-whom she had started off on the wrong foot with-but that didn't mean anything. He was still a child, like her! And he was willing to kill in cold blood, even if the lives he took weren't so innocent.

Len's rampage didn't seem to stop. His anger kept boiling and boiling seeming not to end anytime soon.

As Len was about to throw the chair he had been sitting on at Kaito in a fit of rage, Rin's fear melted away realizing how dire the situation was. Doing what her instincts and training were yelling at her to do from the back of her mind, she ran behind Len and just as he was about to lift the chair and throw it at Kaito, she brought down a fist on a pressure point in his neck and knocked him out.

Len's eyes fluttered shut and he dropped to the ground in a heap, a deadweight. Kaito was stunned and at a loss for words. Rin never used her training to intentionally harm anyone outside of the ring.

Rin broke down and fell to the ground next to Len and sobbed.

She had never seen so much bottled hatred. Especially in someone as young and innocent as Len, who was her age! She cried for how miserable his life flipped upside down, at how life passed him a card from the same deck it had passed to Rin years ago.

Not only was she crying for Len, a stranger who she hardly knew, she was also pitying herself.

To her, Len was lucky. Atleast he knew who his parents were. He knew that they loved him as he obviously loved-and still loves- them now. How he had a sense of security and safeness that Rin had never felt before. Because she didn't know about warm feelings only being around ones family gave. She only knew sadness, endless fear, and hardships. Not to mention the most prominent emotion in her empty shell-of-a-heart; loneliness.

Yes, she still had Rei. He was the only thing she had. But when was he ever really around to comfort her besides when he was laying asleep next to her before she woke him from the only peace he would get out of this cruel world with her screams?

She envied Len. He had a past, he knew how his parents left him alone to face the world independently. And Rin didn't. She didn't know who her family was; she could only hope that they were loving and not horribly abusive like most of the other slum children's.

"Hey, hey, don't cry. It's alright." A soothing voice said from the other side of her. Kaito.

He started to rub her back without any hesitation like he normally would. To his delight, Rin didn't flinch away at the sudden affection.

Kaito continued to sit next to her and hold her in a half-hug while he alternated between patting and rubbing her back as her wretchingly loud cries degraded to choked sobs, than hiccups, and finally they stopped.

Rin finally fell asleep leaning against Kaito's shoulder, her tear-stained face pressed against his shirt as she inhaled and exhaled deeply.

Light filtering in from a tattered and thin curtain hit her face and slowly woke her. Her eyes felt tired and she could feel the puffyness from crying.

"Sis? How are you doing?" A soft familiar voice said beside her. Rin blinked a couple of times and turned her head to the side to see Rei.

Rin was confused. "R-Rei? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be. . .out?" Rin asked. Rei was never around during the day, not that she knew where he went either. For the first time she realized she was in an unknown place.

Rin sat up quickly and looked around, instantly on alert. "Rei where-?"

"Don't worry, Rin. We're in the infirmary. And Kaito told me about what happened as soon as I got back." He answered all her questions, avoiding his location before eveything happened. He was seated in a plastic chair beside her bed and was holding her hand.

Infirmary? As far as she knew she wasn't hurt.

The infirmary was inside of another small building somewhere in the Malevolent clan district. Rin realised that she had been laying down on a bed. It was a little bit lumpy and rickety, but she had never lain on a bed before. It definetly beat sleeping on a thin cot where you can feel the cold hard ground beneath you.

She looked into her brother's forest green eyes, eyes completely different from hers. Rin always thought how odd it was that they looked nothing alike, from their eye color, hair color and even their facial features. Then again, she didn't even know what her parents looked like.

For the first time she noticed that her and her brother weren't alone.

Rin's bed wasn't the only one in the room. Off to the side of her there was another one, and lying in the bed, his head elevated by pillows so he was almost sitting up, was Len.

And he was awake, just staring at her. He smirked weakly and put down the makeshift icepack he was holding on the spot where Rin had pulvarized him. She instantly felt guilty.

"Good Morning, Sleeping Beauty." Len said, immedietly starting the flirting. He winked. Rei shot him a look and looked back at Rin.

"I have to be going now, alright? Don't forget to practice, too." giving another deadly look of warning to Len, he left the room. Kaito, who was probably waiting beside it came in. The two friends nodded at each other and went their seperate ways.

Kaito took Rei's spot in the chair and smiled sadly at Rin as if he knew bad news. She noticed that Kaito was back to his normally happy self compared to yesterday. He looked at Len and started to speak to the both of them.

"You two will be seeing a lot of each other from now on." She knew it. Rin slumped back on the bed and let out a miserable groan of dissapointment. Kaito knew why she wasn't so thrilled but gave her a look that said 'don't be rude, he's right there.' anyways.

Kaito set his gaze on Len, "You've been accepted. So far now you'll be living with Rin and her brother Rei, who you just met earlier." Kaito stood up and walked over to Len and bent down to whisper threatningly in his ear. Rin strained to hear but she thought she heard Kaito darkly say;

"Pull any funny buisness with her, and i'll make sure I get rid of you, pretty boy."

Rin felt touched that Kaito was protective over her just as much as Rei was, even after how snobbish she seemed around him because he wasn't Rei.

Kaito walked towards the door and was about to leave when he turned with his signature sunny smile and chirped, "Don't forget to practice, Rin! It starts at ten o'clock tonight, ok? I'll be there rooting you on!" and with that, he walked out the door.

Rin sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

When she thought her life couldn't get any worse, it did all because of Len.

And know she was in an awkward position. Now what? After what happened yesterday she didn't know what to say or do. Should she comfort him about the loss of his parents or would it be best to keep her mouth shut?

"So cutie, what's this practice thing about?" Len asked her using one of his many degrading nicknames. It brought Rin out of her thoughts.

**_Maybe if I ignore him and pretend to go to sleep, he'll leave me alone._** Rin thought.

The look on Len's face kept her from doing so.

Rin rubbed her eyes and took the blankets off her body and stood up. "Just. . .follow me. We have a lot to do." She said uncharacteristically harsh. Realising how mean she sounded, she asked softly, "How's your, umm. . . neck?" she felt so embarrassed.

Len smirked at the sligh blush on her face from embarrassment. She looked kinda cute.

"It's fine. BUT, a kiss will make it even better." Rin shook her head and started to walk out the door. Len scrambled up from the creaky old bed to follow her out.

* * *

><p><strong>Lame title is lame xP<strong>

**Ok, I thought I should clear a couple things up;**

**The Panda drug and the Panda Hero won't be mentioned later on. Maybe two or three chapters. I want to explain some stuff first before I get to that point in time**

**What Rin "practises" will be revealed in the next chapter for those of you who are like, "Huh..?"**

**So what'd you guys think of this chapter? Sorry for not updating in a while, I have other writting projects going on so this one was sort of neglected. But if everyone keeps reviewing I might update sooner than usual! Also, I want to know if your guys are getting a good imagery in your head, like you can get picture of dirty and and dark and awful everything is in your head. Also are you guys getting a sad vibe from reading this for the mood of the story? And what about Len's character? Sorry if I seem kinda...nosey. I just need to know so I can improve the story feeling wise. I know this one was a little short, but now your curiousity is gnawing at you, yes? :D**

**~Sabby-Sama**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The three mile walk from the Infirmary to Rin's little corner of a home was a refreshing one, even if Len was tagging along.

Slight breezes of wind felt nice on her face in the sweltering summer heat. What little of the sky she could see through clouds of gunk was a beautiful blue.

But the best part of the long walk was that Len surprisingly kept his mouth shut the whole time, leaving a nice peace between the both of them. Every so often however Len would glance at Rin and stare at her, his eyes roaming over her features for a minute before looking ahead of him again, and it made her feel uncomfortable.

As much as she wanted to glare at him and snap, 'What are you looking at?' she figured it wouldn't be the best. Might as well try to get along with her new 'roomate'.

Rin scrunched her face at the horrible thought. She had to live with this arrogant, rude, cocky and vulgar person from now on. She still couldn't believe it.

"We're here." Rin said bluntly and dropped the cot Kaito had left in the infirmary room for Len onto the ground far away from hers. Len exaimened his bricked in surroundings. It was sometime in the evening now.

He leaned against a brick wall casually, no doubt trying to look cool, Rin thought. "So, I'm supposed to live here, out in the open?" He asked. NOW Rin glared at him.

"Be grateful. Atleast we accepted you and didn't leave you on the streets to die." she replied coldly. Len held up his hands in surrender.

"Jeez, sorry." He said and than added, "Babe." with a sparkle in his eye, knowing how it'll piss her off.

Rin clenched her fists and walked into Kaito's stone one-roomed home thinking it'd be best not to drive her fist to wipe that arrogant smirk off his face.

There wasn't much in the familiar building. A couble of wooden chairs ready to snap at the legs if you werent careful, a small table, a cot with a pillow and other odd's and ends. Nothing extravagant, like all the other residents who were lucky enough to actually have a roof over their heads.

Rin stomped over to a battered punching bag held up by a stand on the ground. It was nothing too special or fancy.

The three mile walk was a good warm up for her legs, so she skipped her stretches in that area. She lifted an arm up in the air, bent it at the elbow and brought it down across her shoulder with her other hand. She held it like that and did the same with the other arm.

Len finally followed her into the building when she didn't come out and caught her kicking the bag with such fierceness for such a tiny body.

Rin alternated between powerful kicks, swift punches and ducks. Len stared at her in awe. He never thought that Rin, a beautiful, petite, shy (to others, not to him) girl would be a fighter. She just seemed too harmless!

But now he knew better, she was a great fighter and could probably kick his ass anytime, anywhere. He made a little mental note not to go_ too_ far with his little nicknames.

Beads of sweat started to form on Rin's forehead as well on her arms, making them shine slightly and show off her perfect, flexing musceles; big enough to show she was physically strong, but small enough that you can still tell she was actually female.

Len thought how ironic this scene was. Rin, who was usually such a timid girl and wouldn't even attempt swatting a fly was pounding the bag into smithereens.

Rin was so into her practise that she didn't realize Len had creeped up behind her, studying her movements in awe. Len's eyebrow raised to his hairline when Rin turned slightly as she was jumping around pretending to dodge punches as she threw back her own. Someone needed a sport's bra.

Len snickered into his hand immaturely. Rin stopped mid-roundhouse and turned at the sudden noise, startled.

"What?" she asked, her face getting even redder than it was before from exhasustion. How long had Len been watching her? She was sure the lazy bum was going to hit the cot for the rest of the day!

Keeping in mind that if he told her that he was checking out her 'goodies' as he would of put it, she would pummel him into the concrete wall he was leaning against.

"You're good." Len finally said. Rin wiped her wet bangs off from her head and to the side and grunted a 'thanks' in between catching her breath.

"So, who taught you all that?" he asked. "It was pretty badass." Rin looked down at her fists as she clenched and unclenched them.

"Rei did. He taught me years ago when I. . . never mind." She shook her head and took a deep breath to calm herself.

Len realised something must of happened that she didn't want to talk about so he strayed away from that topic. He was surprised when Rin did the subject changing for him.

"Rei's better than me, obviously. He says that our dad taught him when he was younger. Before all this." Rin gestured to the space around her. She continued.

"Our dad was a fight teacher who knew different styles, according to my brother. He taught Rei some self defense teqniques, Boxing, and Taekwondo, which Rei taught me." Rin said quietly. It was hard for her to even mention her dad who Rei remembered.

"What do you mean?" Len asked with a scrunched eyebrow. "'According to my brother'" he quoted. Atonishingly, Len felt bad realizing he asked the wrong thing when he saw the change in the girls face.

"It's ok, you don't have-" Len spoke quickly

Rin interrupted him. "I. . .I don't know who my parents were. I'm orphaned like you. They died when I was seven but I have no memory of them at all. Isn't that weird? Seven's old enough to have memory of your own parents." she said somewhat hesitantly. She didn't think much about whether it would be a good idea to tell him about all that. She almost regreted it now, having to dump all that on him so suddenly. She didn't even know if he was trustworthy.

"Trauma." Len replied shortly after her emotional dump. Rin stared at him like he was insane.

"Excuse me?" She asked not knowing what he was talking about.

Len explained, "My old man was a psychologist, before he. . ." he trailed off and shook his head. "Anyways, if someone goes through something that becomes hard on them, like their parents death, their brain will delete the memories that they have of it. It's called Repressed Memory, a type of Amnesia. In your case your brain wiped out all your memories about your parents and everything before it." he finally finished.

Rin's jaw dropped open. "Y-you're actually _smart_?" Rin finally babbled, shocked. Len snorted

"Nope. My dad just liked to lecture about his job a lot." he said. "And anyways, looks ain't everything, blondie." Len smirked.

After speaking her absurd comment outloud, she muttered to herself, "Something that bad actually happened to them for me to forget everything?" while putting her fist over her mouth in thought.

A wail of an alarm brought them both from their thoughts and shattered the silence.

"Is it ten already?" Rin thought aloud. She didn't even realise the room grow dark, light only being able to come in from the empty doorframe. The girl tied her hair up into a short ponytail using an elastic around her wrist.

"What are you talking about, babe?" Len asked once again becoming his suave self. He was ignored as Rin left Kaito's home and started to walk down the alley. Not knowing what else to do, he strut quickly after her.

"The arena." Rin said simply and kept walking.

The alarm echoed across the whole Malevolent district. Once a week, every Saturday night the warning siren would go off before 10 o' clock alerting everyone before it started. Everyone in the area would hear the whining siren and would cluster at the arena.

The arena was probably the best looking thing in all the slums and it belonged to Malevolent and Malevolent only.

Like every other building, it was made of gray stone and concrete. The inside of the seemingly dull building however was the complete opposite.

Walking in, Len noticed how festive the lights almost looked. There were dozens of long strands of lights that lit up the inside of the building in surprisingly joyous hues of orange, yellow, pink, and a bit of regular white light. He realized how friendly and slightly inviting the atmosphere was in here compared to the outside world of the slums.

The perimeter of the big, completely open room was lined with chairs of different kinds. Metal foldouts, plain wooden chairs, metal chairs that looked like they were stolen from a classroom outside of the slums and even a couple of crumy recliners.

Even with possibly the HUNDREDS of chairs, some people were forced to find a spot on the floor to sit because the arena was so packed. The only time Len had seen people actually smile in the slums, even the slightest, was in that building. Other than that, everyone looked almost dead as they lived their lives in miserable repetition.

"Len? Down here." said boy got called out of his thoughts by Rin. Rin was standing about 30 feet in front of him in an empty aisle where the rows of chairs egan off to the sides of her. It almost looked like the blonde girl was. . .smiling. Len blinked a couple of times and rubbed his eyes, thinking there must be something wrong with his eyes and he couldn't see properly from a distance. The faint whisper of a smile was still on blonde girls face.

Was that the first time he's seen her remotely happy? And what _was_ making her so freaking happy? She motioned for the now staring boy to come to her and he complied, strutting down the aisle. Rin rolled her eyes but not even Len's 'i'm-all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips' attitude could bring her down.

Rin walked to the very front row with an almost visible bounce in her step. Len raised an eyebrow slightly at the discovery while trying to sneek a peek at her ass.

Len noticed how the floor dipped slightly ahead of the front row. And there, in it's own trench in the center of the room was a huge fighting ring. Len's eyes nearly popped out of head, but of course, they didn't because he was Len and he had swag.

About in the middle of the front row two people with familar looking hair were had light brown hair and the other had blue. He followed Rin down the row and emerging from behind other peoples heads were the faces of Rei and Kaito.

Rei got up from the chair and smiled his usual caring and reassuring smile. Kaito beamed at her proudly.

"Hey, Sis." He said in his mellow voice and hugged his sisters petite frame. Rei looked down at her looking back up at him with a smile and asked, "Did you warm up?"

Rin nodded enthusiastically, "Of course! You know by now not to ask. It's not like back when I was ten." she laughed lightly remembering how sneaky she would be about practicing at that age.

Now Len was befuddled. What were they talking about?

Rin's brother noticed him standing behind her and something flashed across his face. Len noticed the sudden change in facial expression but it passed too quickly to tell what it was.

Rei sat back down next to Kaito, and Rin sat in an empty seat next to her brother. Len was left standing. Kaito gestured him to sit in the extra seat chair to him.

"Umm, so what's going on here?" Len finally asked to try and clear the confussion fogging his brain. The three others looked at him like he just asked what the sun was.

"It's Saturday. Every Saturday we have a fight competition." Kaito explained. That didn't help Len at all.

Len scratched the messy bangs in the front of his head. "And? What does it have to do with cu-I mean Rin?" Close call. It wouldn't have been pretty if he called Rin one of his nicknames in front of her brother.

Rin sighed, no doubt thinking how much of an idiotic pretty boy he was. "Why do you think I was beating a bag before?" she answered his question with a question.

It suddenly clicked. Little, delicate, harmless Rin was actually going to FIGHT now? It front of all these people? That seemed nothing like her.

Being the fool that he was, he spoke without thinking. "YOU'RE going to fight? That doesn't seem like you at all!" Len blurted out. Rin was offended and turned stone cold.

She crossed her arms and turned forward, her face completely cleaned of any traces of earlier merriment. "You don't even know me." she said bluntly. Kaito and Rei were whipping their heads back and forth to keep up with the conversation coming from both ends until Rin's comment stopped Len from speaking anymore.

Rei gave Len a look for killing his little sisters good mood from blondes blood almost ran cold but he brushed it off.

After a while, Len spoke."So how long has she been doing this for?" Len asked Kaito quietly. The blue haired man turned to him slightly, keeping one eye on the fight that was currently going on. The tournament started an hour before.

"Did you hear her talking to Rei earlier? Since she was ten, now shh." Kaito said shortly and then continued to watch the men punch and kick each other.

That had to be a lie, Len thought. Ten? Who would let a ten year old girl fight? He decided to find out later after the tournament as to not pester Kaito.

The current fighter got knocked out and dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. Cheers erupted from around the arena as the victor raised his arms in victory.

"Next up, RIIIIIIN." The announcer shouted. Howl's, whistle's and shout's broke the buildings sound barrier. Len was amazed at how loud everyone cheered; louder than when the fighter just got knocked out.

Rin jumped up, appearing pumped up and excited.

She hugged her brother who shouted "Knock 'em dead." over the still screaming audience. Kaito yelled, "Good luck, kiddo!" Before she ran up the ring and got in.

A spot light hanging above the ring cast a bright light on Rin as she grinned and hopped from foot to foot waiting for her opponent.

When at last, the person she would be facing appeared into the ring, Lens jaw dropped.

* * *

><p><strong>Here's the next chapter! A little more insight about the charater's and some development, woot woot! It's extra long to so I hope you enjoy it! A way for you to tell me how much you liked this chapter is to post a review ;D<strong>

**Not sure when the next chapter will be up, probably in the next 3-4 days since I have school and time for writting will be less. Also, I notice how Len seems a bit OOC in this chapter, but who said that people only have one side to them?**

**Thats all for now, see you next chapter!**

**~Sabby-Sama**


	5. Chapter 5

**Panda Hero**

Chapter 5: A Solemn Win

Steeping into the ring was a beefed up guy four times bigger than Rin.

Len whipped his head to the side to stare at Kaito wide eyed. once he saw who the petite girl would be fighting against.

"Are you crazy? That guy will kill her!" Len shouted over the roar of the crowd. Kaito just chuckled softly, not answering him.

Rei, who was to the other side of Kaito had his arms crossed. The blonde looked over to Rei hoping he would answer him. Len couldn't identify what Rin's brother was feeling by looking at his unusual facial expression.

The older teen had his arms crossed. His forehead was creased in concentration accompanied by a slight smirk on his lips as he observed his sister and the monster stretching in the ring. Rei pretended like he didn't here Len's shouting.

Len had enough of being ignored. He got up so abruptly his chair flipped back and hit somebody behind him, causing a string of swears and threats from them at Len.

He hurriedly flipped off the person behind him and marched his way towards the ring. There was no way he was going to let Rin get hurt by the opponent who would surely break her beautifully angelic face.

The blonde teen could feel his face burning in fury and a vein popping out of his neck. He clenched his fists when someone suddenly gripped his arm. A slight crack was heard from his limb. He tried to muffle a grunt of pain.

Rei was sitting calmly in his chair. But the way he was seated was the complete opposite of his scarily stern face. Before his arm became numb, Len felt a surge of goose flesh surge through him.

"Sit your ass back down." Rei ordered in a slightly demonic voice. His green eyes were lit with an unseen fire under the forest colored surface. Len stared back as hard as he could manage.

"No." He snarled back. Len noticed with satisfaction that Rei's eyebrow quivered in agitation. That sudden thrill of accomplishment he felt was immedietly crushed along with his arm.

Quicker than lightning, Rei had shot up and had Len in a position where it hurt to even breath, never mind try to wiggle his arm free.

By now everyone in their area was cheering them on, hoping a fight was about to start. Thankfully, Rin was oblivious to what was going on between Len and her brother. She and her opponent were busy warming up.

"I said, sit down." Rei grumbled startlingly calm into Len's ear, a complete one-eighty from before.

Len grunted and took a sharp intake of breath through his clenched teeth.

"And **I** said -tch!- Rin can't. . . do this!" Len shouted while trying to muffle his sounds of pain. He screamed out in agony when Rei twisted his arm sharply.

Rei had enough of Len's back talking. Giving one more twist to the blonde teens arm for good measure, he tossed Len to the side as easily as a gun's trigger could be pulled.

"Learn your place, punk." Rei spat out. "I'm bigger than you and I sure as hell can hurt you more than you can hurt me. You're just lucky I didn't break your arm. Now sit your ass down and shut your fucking mouth." Rei ground out as he threatningly loomed over a limp and bruising Len.

Kaito shook his head sadly and let out a 'tsk tsk', his eyes not leaving the pair in the ring. Len wondered if that were directed to him or to Rei.

Once Len crawled back onto the chair after getting up from the ground, Kaito leaned over to him and whispered "You just met the other side of Rei. Be careful from now on, ok?" the blue haired man spoke softly so Rei couldn't hear.

Len nodded, face grim.

Kaito met his eyes "And another thing; have faith in Rin." his voice was earnest as he gave his advice. The man looked away to gaze intently at the arena. Len processed his words until a shrill ring of a bell was heard.

The strung lights suddenly dimmed, the only source of reliable light coming from above the ring.

Everyone in the building hushed, the only thing Len's ears could detect was faint murmurings of the people. It sounded like they were silently whipsering Rin's name among one another.

The announcer stood in the middle of the ring, microphone in hand. After the man shouted introductions into the puny mic, Len could feel everyone in the room holding in their breath.

"GO!" The announcer finally shouted.

The arena stayed silent, the onlookers gripping to the bottom of their seats in anticipation as they watched. Len was the most nervous out of the hundreds of people in the building; though he would never admit it.

The two fighters were teasing one another as they faked coming towards the other, fists raised. Len noticed how Rin's short ponytail bobbed with every jump-step she took.

The man was the one to initiate the fight. He surged forward and struck out a fist. He stumbled into the ropes where he noticed with amazement that he missed. He turned to locate Rin.

She stood there, not the least bit threatning She smirked at her opponent who gritted his teeth with a snarl. The girl lifted her hand to mockingly wave at him.

The crowd howled with laughter and cheers.

"Bit clumsy, are we?" Rin impishly jeered loudly.

Len couldn't help but chuckle a bit at how cocky Rin was being. It was nice to see such a change in her usual gloomy mood.

As the noise died down, he became serious when the opponent got up.

Rin continued to smirk as she stood there patiently, quietly demanding the man to step towards her. Instead of simply getting up and stepping up to her, he dashed forward and with a shout of rage threw his fist yet again.

Len shut his eyes and braced himself for the hard crunch of Rin's face shattering. When he didn't hear it, he opened an eye.

Rin had dodged again by side stepping swiftly. Not only did she do that, but she also brought out her arm to get it caught in the man's beefy neck, who nearly choked himself by stupidly running into it. Len saw with astonishment at how easily Rin then flipped over the man who had to weigh_ at least_ three hundred pounds.

Rin jumped on the man who was now in a daze and coughing madly on the ground. The cheers started up again.

Rin held him pinned to the ground using an arm and both her legs. With her free hand she started to bash the man's face.

Len's mouth dropped at the speed her hand was moving. She was faster than when Rei had attacked him!

The punches brought the man out of his dazed state and he somehow wrestled himself free of her hold. Rin rolled out of the way in the same second he was going to kick her in the side.

Rin bounded up, and that's when Len realized there were no gloves covering Rin's small fists.

Her opponent aimed a powered kick at her head, which she easily dodged.

This just angered him more, sending him to release a frenzied barrage of kicks and punches.

Even though Rin dodged his attacks easily, it filled Len with rage just seeing how feircly this grown man was attempting to harm Rin, a petite young girl.

Rin weaseled her way around these attacks like quicksilver, using her size to her advantage. She was intune with her body, mearly swaying gracefully without putting much thought or effort into it. Rin had a gift for this.

She struck out her fist in an uppercut. The mans head jerked back with a loud crack that echoed throughout the arena. People were stomping their feet on the concrete ground, creating a thunderous beat that empowered Rin and made the moment so much more. . .memorable?

Her opponent stumbled back but regained his footing. Rin kicked him in the side quickly. The man lurched, but wasn't about to go down just yet.

As he was returning a kick of his own, Rin lashed out her hand with the speed of a striking cobra and snatched the man by the leg. The mans eyes went wide.

She lifted the leg and jerked her arm up, in and down, slamming the man to the ground on his back like a helpless turtle. All this time Rin didn't even break a sweat, or have a finger layed on her.

Rin immedietly got down and grabbed the man in a hold he couldn't free from this time. She wrestled him down longer until the announcer shouted over the mic.

"The winner: RIIIIIIN!" The girl bounded up and smiled her trademark cheeky smile of victory to the crowd. Everyone went wild, including Len.

The announcer handed something to Rin and she ran down to meet her brother, who hand his arms stretched out ready for a hug.

"You were awesome! I'm so proud of you." Rei praised her while he crushed her tiny frame. She laughed shortly and hugged him back. One of the times she ever felt adorded was when she won a match.

She let go and went to Kaito, who was smiling widely. He did his usual 'one, two' punch in the air, his way of saying 'good job!', which Rin mimicked back.

The girl hesitated for a minute, thinking, and suddenly (and quite awkwardly) drapped her arms around Kaito in a hug. He was caught off guard, but the perky man that he was, he happily hugged her back and daringly noogied her softly on the head. She laughed.

Len was last to congradulate her. Rin didn't go up to him, though. No matter how much of a good mood she was in, she didn't want to talk to him. Just the thought was revolting.

He walked up to her casually, avoiding Rei as much as possible.

"Sooo." He drawed out, picking his words mentally very carefully. "What did that announcer guy give you?" Len had noticed Rin take something from him.

Her smile faded somewhat once Len approached her. She unclenched her fist to show him a 10 dollar bill.

That's it? She fought her ass off and got 10 bucks? That couldn't even buy you a burger from the dollar menu.

"Ten bucks?" Len asked. Rin nodded and gave Len a strange look. "What do you do with it?" what could you possibly do with money in the Slums? It was practically useless.

Instead of getting an eye-roll like he expected, Rin instantly turned somber, a thoughtful look clouded her eyes.

"I save it." and with the vague answer, she turned and walked out with Rei.

* * *

><p>After walking out with Kaito by his side, Rei and the blue haired man headed to HQ together saying they had something to do, leaving Len and Rin to walk back together in the middle of the night.<p>

The walk was like earlier. Awkwardly quiet.

They saw a few shady characters on the way, but they didn't harass the two teens. Rin's familiar short blonde hair was like a red flag that shouted 'DO NOT TOUCH UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU.'

Finally reaching their spot, Rin jogged up to the brick wall near her coat and crouched down. Len leaned against the wall and watched her curiously.

She dug her nails around an edge of a brick, jostled it free and dropped it on the ground with a clatter. Through the darkness, Len could makeout a long hole that was once behind the brick bursting with crumpled dollar bills. He watched as Rin smiled and deposited her prize money to join the rest and re-seal the wall with the brick cautiously.

Len whistled, catching Rins attention. She sat back on her legs and stared at him.

"That all your prize money?" He asked. Rin nodded.

No snarky remarks? Len decided to push on. He felt the urge to be an instigator.

"Whatcha savin' it for?" he interrogated. Rin pursed her lips to the side.

She didn't like telling people her buisiness, but Len wouldn't stop until he had an answer. "My education." she replied.

"What?" the boy asked. That was an odd answer. Instead of saving up to get an apartment out of the slums, Rin was trying to get into college WITHOUT much of an educational background?

She looked down and began to pick at her cot absently. "An education. You know, like books and stuff. When I get enough money from doing tournaments I'll spend it and teach myself, with the help of Rei." She murmured.

Len made a sound in understandment. That made more sense. Rin looked up at him with a helpless look on her face that made her look like a child.

"I've been doing this since I was ten. For five years. And i'm nowhere near the amount I need. Rei's always been telling me to try my hardest and then to get as much of an education for myself as I can. It's the only way out of here."

Len was speechless. Rin just blurted out her personal things to him, which he had no way to respond. He quickly covered up his shock with a mask of his usual arrogant face.

Rin noticed his discomfort before he hid it and blushed.

"I'm sorry. I'm just over here babbling. . ."

He thought with slight amusment at how diverse Rins personality was. She could be cold towards him, throw his attitude right back at him, or be helpless while letting her walls crumble down.

It was silent for a moment. Rin looked away and Len was watching her have a mental debate with herself. He hated silence more than anything.

"How many matches have you won?" the break in the silence startled Rin as much as Len was startled with her answer.

"Every single one since I started." she answered, not a hint of boasting in her tone. She smiled.

"I love it." She added. And Len thought how she said it so geniunley. She didn't say it in a way that made her sound like a girl obsessed with beating people up, but it was a passion of hers. And she was an expert at it!

"Has Rei ever competed?" He asked. Len remembered Rin telling him earlier that her brother was the one who taught her, and he was supposedly better.

Rin undid her ponytail and replaced the elastic on her wrist. "He used to. Rei doesn't do it anymore though. But trust me, seeing me fight is nothing compared to what he can do." Rin laughed at the end.

It was quiet somemore until Rin lied down on her cot and announced she was going to sleep. Len had singsonged a "Goodnight, Sleeping Beauty." hoping to lift his mood a bit. He shortly went to sleep after.

* * *

><p><strong>I've been super busy lately so I hadn't had the chance to update a new chapter! I'm so so so sorry! D: Anyways, just a bit more insight about Rin. Isn't Rei scary when he's pissed? :D Anyways, I think next chapter will start to introduce the Panda Hero and more!<strong>

**Review please to see this going and tell me what you thought!**

**~Sabby-Sama**


	6. Chapter 6

**Panda Hero**

Chapter 6: One-Sided Familiarity

It seemed like everyone knew what was going on besides her.

She and Len were walking down a wide alley-way when she heard the nervous, yet excited, whispers of crazy-eyed people.

"She. . .Teal hair. . .Panda. . ." were the pieces Rin's ears picked up from the various, quieted voices. Len was too arrogant to notice as he strut slightly ahead of her.

She decided to just wave it off. Some people who lived around here weren't exactly. . .alright. It was just the booze talking.

More and more groups of people were appearing in the outdoor corridor mumbling to one another as they looked over their shoulders seemingly paranoid. At first she was hesitant and a bit shy, but she eventually pushed those feelings off to the side. A young womans eyes went wide when Rin neared her. She shrank away from the blonde girl heading her way.

The woman wasn't afraid of Rin, per se. She was frightened about what she was going to ask her.

"What's going on?" Rin asked the unfamiliar woman. The lady looked to her friend beside her desperately for help. By now, Len had realised Rin wasn't trailing him. He turned and watched what was unfolding.

After a moment of being silent, the woman sighed. "Just. . .Just go to HQ." Without thanking the meek woman, Rin turned on her heels and made her way to the direction of the building.

Len jogged slightly to keep up with the girls fast pace. She didn't answer his questions. With a stubborn mutter to himself, he finally shut up and continued to follow Rin.

Arriving at the main building surrounded by the rest of the clan's district, Rin noticed the large swarming crowd of people. It was hard NOT to.

It was eerily silent. Usually when their was a riot there would be random outbursts of threats and/or foul language. But the air in the center of the slums was covered with a thick coat of anxiousness. That was unordinary.

Rin instantly tensed up. Something was wrong. The last time something like this happened was when half of their clans higher ups were murdered by a rival, which explained how scared that woman looked. But when that even happened, Rin was eleven. It was _years_ ago

The fair girl halted and stared at the crowd, rolling her thoughts on what to do around her head like a contemplative tumbleweed. Kaito should be in HQ, he would know what the giant gathering was about. She hated being caught in tight spots, as was normal for being a claustrophobic. But it would have to be done.

She hated being caught in tight spots, as was normal for being a claustrophobic. Without a second thought, she lunged into the heavy, tightly packed crowd. She didn't even have to push her way through after intruding; she was let through passively. Len unfortunalty, was pushed in different directions and ended up loosing Rin.

Once parting through the sea of stunned people, she was more stumped to see that the usual guards weren't at their posts beside the entrance.

Heatbeat racing to match her rapid breathing, she slowly opened the door as quietly as she could. The crowd behind her watched with concerned interest, not knowing what was going on at all. They all knew Rin might possibly be walking into a dangerous zone, but they were more cowardly than the young woman.

A flash of shiny silver and teal is what greeted Rin as she cautiously peeked around the slightly jarred door.

"Oh, come on. Why not? It's extra cash." a high pitched-yet cloaked with a very thin film of smoke- voice spoke. It was clearly female. Rin leaned in closer, quietly and stealthily squeezed herself through the door's small gap and hid behind a stray chair in the main area of HQ.

A sigh, then followed by a familiar mello voice. "We just can't. We'll ask you one more time to leave." but the mello voice wasn't so laid back. It had a steely, demanding edge to it.

Rin shifted to get a better look.

_**REI?** _What was _he_ doing here? And who was that girl?

Her brother was facing in her direction, so she could see him clearly, but he couldn't see her. Same with Kaito, who was beside him. The happy-go-lucky man wasn't very thrilled by this woman either. His eyebrows were knit in frustration, crinkling the scar on his forehead to look like a lightning bolt. Rei, however, looked calm-which betrayed the annoyed tone his voice held so clearly you would think the woman would get the hint.

The mystery woman was turned away from Rin, not allowing her to see her face. She was looking towards the two men. All she could see was a single, long teal ponytail of silky smooth strands tied highly on her head. Rin selfconciously raked her fingers through her own dirtied, stringy hair. Compared to the woman's lush head of hair, Rin looked like pure crap.

She wore the typical clothing for the hot summer season, but a more matured version. A low cut tank top and short shorts perfectly revealed her smooth, lightly tanned skin. Her stance just accentuated her figure further. One leg was stretched out while the other was bent slightly, causing her hip to hitch upwards. One hand was on her hip. A metal bat branished in her gloved left hand was slung over her shoulder, lightly tapping her back impatiently.

"Look," the woman said a little bit more forcefully. "think about it and how it would benefit your 'clan'." Kaito visibly softened and looked to Rei. Rei stood his ground and wasn't about to break like the other man.

Before the girl point her lethal metal bat in Rei's face with hostility, the knee Rin was crouching down on slipped. She shut her eyes and dug her fingers into the the chair in front of her deeper at the creak the wood floor made as she held her breath, PRAYING it wasn't heard.

Silence. Rin bravely opened her eyes, only to see the three adults stare back at her. Rin let out a tiny scream upon looking at the woman's face.

"Hey there?" the woman spoke confusedly.

Around the eye that wasn't covered by an eyepatch was a thick, coal black ring that dropped near the outer edge of her eye. The brilliant teal that matched her hair perfectly was even more pronounced by the black ring and bags. The ghastly gaze seemed to pierce right through her and chill her to the core.

Rin fainted.

* * *

><p>Forest green eyes was the first thing she saw when she came to. It was a refreshing sight to help get over. . . before.<p>

"What the _hell_ are you doing here." Rei demanded sternly. Rin knew he was worried about her, but did he seriously have to talk so loud?

Bringing a hand to her temple, she blinked rapidly and squinted, feeling the after effects of her faint.

The lumpyness beneath her was a sign that she was laid on the hideous, sulking couch in the HQ by smeone. Hopefull it was her brother her placed her there and not that woman. Then something dawned on her.

"W-who was that girl?" Rin asked feebly. She did_ not_ want to see her again. The woman was. . .scary to look at. And where was she, too? Rin prayed to any God's that exsisted that she had left while she was unconcious.

Rei opened his taunt lips to answer his sister. But instead of his voice coming out, it was the dread high pitched,free of annoyance, one speaking. And it was coming from above her.

Alarmed, she shot up in a sitting position and scooted back to the other edge of the couch. Lean arms connected to a slightly busty torso were carelessly slung over the back of the piece of furniture. The girl smirked and raised a thumb pointing at her chest.

"They call me the Panda Hero." she said with a twinge of overly confident snootyness.

**_Well, that was appropriate._** Rin thought, referring to the. . .stuff around her eye. Nevertheless, Rin didn't dare say that aloud for fear of getting beaten with the shiny metal bat the 'Panda Hero' was stroking lovingly. She seemed the type to use it on a teen, too.

Instead, she was stunned in silence, having had a mini heartattack at the strange eye staring down at her earlier, playfully.

Rei rolled his eyes. He obviously didn't like this girl or the title she went by. Why was this woman (who appeared to be a couple years older than Rei) doing here in the first place?

The both of them continued to stare at her. That was when she realised Kaito wasn't in the room. Rei looked at her neutraly, while the 'Panda Hero' seemed to survey her as if she recognized Rin, but didn't know from where. Rin started to wonder why the woman wore the white medical eyepatch.

Then, the petite girl could practically see ringing bells going off in the teal haired lady's observant eye. How could she know her? If she saw a woman with long beautiful teal hair wearing an eyepatch, she'd remember. And it's not like Rin left to go out in the world outside of her clan. As quick as it came, the look dissapeared from the woman's eye and was replaced by a sparkle.

Creepers in the alleys who hit on her no longer scared Rin. Her new fear was the strange woman who somehow knew who she was.

* * *

><p><strong>A tad bit shorter than usual, but I thought the ending would be a good cliffhanger! *evil grin* So, if you guys wanna see what happens next, REVIEW! I'll get the next chapter up soon ASAP if you do ;D And did anyone notice how Len was completely forgotten? xD<strong>

**~Sabby-Sama**


	7. Chapter 7

**Panda Hero**

Chapter 7: A Gift

Rin was seated on the ratty couch, staring at the lonely flickering of the neon bunny girl just ahead of her. She was alone in the building, save for the 'Panda Hero' and her brother in the questioning room.

The two of them were continuing their intense conversation before Rin interrupted them. Kaito was currently no where to be found.

In the background was the empty sound of the static crackling out the orange dog shaped radio. The thing was so old and beaten that the off switch was broken. When would the stupid batteries run out, anyways?

As she was about to take a deep breath of the permanently smoke-ladden air, the murmurs from behind the tattered curtain that seperated the main HQ area and the questioning room increased.

It was easier for her to listen, so naturally, she eavesdropped. The debate made her more puzzled now then it did when she snuck into the building only to come across the teal haired woman talking to Rei for the first time.

She listened intently to the pieces of conversation until one word was spoken that chilled her to the bone.

"-drug. . ."

It was spoken by the teal haired woman.

Silence followed from the other side of the room until the curtain was roughly jerked to the side and Rei stalked out from behind it. Obviously, he was fed up with the woman.

The only sound Rin could pick up from the other room was a single, repetitive clicking sound. The sound of the teal haired woman slowly tapping her long fingernail on top of the aluminum table in solemn thought.

It just made Rin feel more intimidated by the mysterious woman.

Sinking into the couch next to Rin, Rei held the petite girl's slender hands into his own. His eyes bore into hers with such a serious intensity it felt like his forest gaze was mining the sapphire gems of her eyes.

After taking a deep breath and an ecouraging hand squeeze with a slight smile from Rin, her brother spoke.

"Whatever she offers you, don't take it. Promise me that." his calming and mellow voice instructed her. This time, it was Rin's eyes that stared into her brother's, but her's were full of fear.

She knew what Rei meant, and she just realized what the teal haired woman was.

As if on que, the 'Panda Hero' emerged from behind the curtain and winked with a shark-like grin at Rin before she left the HQ.

* * *

><p>Month's went by, and as the month's passed the people of the clan seemed to become. . .deader then they originaly were.<p>

Eye's hazed and uncomprehending, they would stumble around the alleys and passages with a phantom fog of lifelessness clinging to them like a leech, slowly draining them of any life behind their now empty, glassy eyes.

These changes were caused by a new, extremely addicting drug in the form of black powder.

It was also a versatile drug that could be taken just about anyway imaginable.

Injection. Snorted. And even consumption.

Other than the mental and emotional changes, Rin also noticed how the drug changed people's physical features.

It gave you different features depending on the way you took the drug. You could have one effect from it, or all three.

When injected, it turned your veins a brighter, more pronounced blue color that was easily noticeable from under ghastly grey-ish pale skin, the haunting comlexion an overall effect from the substance, no matter how one abused it. The branches seemingly looked to be filled with ice.

Consumption was an easy one to identify. Ones tongue would turn a sickly reptilian green despite the drug's dry, coal black powder.

Snorting left an almost embarrasing effect. A rosy rash-like mark would surround the victim's nostril's. Not to mention that the thick black lines and bags that first scared Rin would be present, like the grey corpse complexion of the infected 'zombies'.

The drug to be blamed for this was appropriately called 'Panda', like the woman that distributed it.

The process by which the drug was distrubuted went like this;

They would step up to the Panda Hero and make a request for how much they needed and present their payment. If you want her help, she asks for a collateral, a certain payment will be all. Sometimes it would be money, or booze. Deeper in they're gulping it down like an opium, drowning their misery's, and unknowingly, their minds.

But despite knowing the Panda Hero was the cause of this, not to mention Rei's first and only warning, she and Rin became friends.

"Yo, Rin!" the smoky, high pitched voice shouted out. Rin turned to look in the direction the now familiar voice was coming from. Len tried to prevent a leer at the teal-haired woman, a grimace forming on his face instead.

"Hey, Panda Hero." Rin greeted her older friend enthusiastically. Since she appeared in the clan, things had been better for Rin. The blonde girl looked forward to the next day eagerly. As soon as she woke up in the morning, she'll smile at the sun hidden behind a film of smoky pollution.

Len grunted in unintrested acknowledgement. He lifted a chair and placed it off to the side. Before she got here only to take away Rin, Len was helping Rin tidy and re-arrange the rows of chairs in the empty Arena. The Arena the previous day was rowdier than usual with Rin's newest win against one of their rival clan's best fighter.

As always, the teal haired woman ignored the annoying, hormonal, wannabe 'suave player' that clung to Rin's side protectively.

"Can ya help me with something?" she inquired in her usual seductively sultry tone. The blonde haired teenage boy rolled his eyes and turned away, so he couldn't be seen and get beaten by her metal bat. Hiding his face behind a stray recliner, he mouthed the Panda Hero's words mockingly and made a mini charade of batting his eye lashes and sticking out his lip in a 'sexy' way.

This woman really irked him for some reason. Rin was too sweet and pure to be hanging around with someone who sold drugs and was a bitch for some new guy everyother day.

"Now?" she continued suggestively, her black-ringed teal eye flickering to Len and narrowing, knowing what the teen was doing behind her back. Len smiled sweetly and waggled his fingers at her. She scoffed in his direction and looked back to Rin expectantly.

"Does it have to be now? I-" Rin got cut off.

"It's fine, just go. I'll finish up here, cutie." Len spat in disgust, the tone more directed to his enemy than his friend who had -thankfully- warmed up to him a tiny bit since he first came to the clan and started to live with her and Rei.

The Panda Hero smirked triumphantly. Rin shrugged and walked with the Panda Hero to the exit. Suddenly, the teal haired woman turned and shouted out to Len who was at the bottom row, near where the floor dipped lower.

"Oh, and thanks for letting your girlfriend come with me, Shota!" she shouted down to the blonde with a smirk and laughed when she noticed Len tensed up at the nickname. He was prfectly fine with Rin being called his girlfriend.

Sauntering out of the Arena, Rin followed after the teal haired woman whose hips were swaying.

Len slammed down another chair in anger. He really couldn't stand that no-good bitch! Always taking Rin away from him like she was Top Dog. If he could, he would punch that woman in the face. But the only problem was her heavy metal bat and her gang of male connections. . .

Grumbling to himself, he continued to work without Rin in the large, empty building.

* * *

><p>"He really hates that, you know." the blonde girl mentioned softly. The Panda Hero guffawed and waved the thought away.<p>

"That kid needs to grow up and stop pretending like he's the shit." she swore.

Rin thought about it. Now that the Panda Hero mentioned that, it was kinda true. . .

"Here!" the woman with the eyepatch shouted excitedly. Rin jumped out of her skin and thoughts.

Already? She must have been day dreaming again.

. . .Wait.

She spun around quickly. Where did the Panda Hero go? Rin started to murmur hysterically under her breath about being lost. She was led somewhere unfamiliar to her.

"P-panda Hero? Where did you go!" Rin cried. Her voice shook and then finally shattered at the end.

A seductive giggle.

Rin's head snapped up to the dirtied skies. Laying down on her stomach, cleavage pilling out from the tight tanktop, was the Panda Hero. And she was ontop of a roof.

"You scared me! Get down, you're going to get hurt!" Rin whined. She nearly had a heartattack! Wiping forming tears out of her eyes so the woman wouldn't see her weak, the Panda Hero just rolled her eyes.

She gestured for Rin to come to her "Just get up here!" she persuaded.

Giving in, Rin obeyed. She uneasily put her foot upon one of the fire escapes rungs and jostled it. A rattling and a crunch didn't satisfy her wariness.

"Oh, it's safe. Get your blonde booty up here!" the Panda Hero shouted down to her. This was getting ridiculous; it's _just_ a ladder!

Rin climbed up on the ladder and quickly, but carefully, scaled the side of the rundown home. The ominous creakying sound of the hazardous rusted bars trailed her until she finally flung herself to the roof top next to a kneeling woman.

"See? Wasn't that exhilarating!" the upside-down woman explained. Rin breathed in shallowly and rapidly like a hare, trying to calm the adrenaline rush racing through her heart.

That was insane! She had just scurried up an old ladder held to the side of the brick building by a single rusted nail and was now on the roof of the slightly leaning building fifty feet in the air. With nothing but unforgiving, spine shattering concrete below her!

Rin uprighted herself, bringing the cruel world in a right-side-up view again. She joined her older friend at the ledge of the middle of the roof.

She swung her feet about as she looked down at the different and never before seen view of the familiar scenery bellow her.

Even though it was dark, and grey and foreboding-like it was smeared with Panda- there was something. . .magical about it.

"Pretty cool, right?" the teal haired woman asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Rin was just breathless at this new queasy feeling of being so high up in the air-something she'd never experienced before. And she liked it. The queasy feeling in your stomach as you looked over the edge, but the rebellious edge tingling in your foot that _dared_ you to just dangle it over the edge.

Instead, she just nodded.

"Good." the woman continued. "This'll be our hangout from here on." she declared, pounding the rooftop with her bat to make it official.

"And another thing!"

Rin 'huh?'-ed in question. The Panda Hero grinned and reached into her skimpy top and brought out something held in her bra.

The petite blonde girl laughed at the Panda Hero's use of their inside joke.

Unravling the object, Rin saw what it was. It was a leather band with shiny silver clasps. dangling from the middle of it was a charm. A panda face.

The Panda Hero gave it to Rin with a smirk. "Surprise!"

Rin's mouth dropped open. Was this really for her? She never owned any kind of jewelry before, even this was just a simple bracelet that wasn't made of real silver.

She put it on and smiled down the object on her wrist. The teal haired woman watched her with a warm fondness in her eyes that would be considered a moment of vulnrability. Rin didn't notice the look in the green-ish eye that greatly resembled the look the Panda Hero gave Rin the first time she met her.

The way she examined the blonde with familiarity.

The thought that the bracelet was boughten with dirty money from the Panda Hero's drug business didn't cross Rin's mind at all.

Ever since Panda came around, her teal haired friend somehow weasled her way through the clan's system, becoming one of the higher-ups. Kaito and her brother Rei became her right and left hands, respectively.

Rin looked to the woman that she felt high respect for, and smiled.

The Panda Hero was independant, gorgeous (even with the Panda effects), strong, quirky, cocky with plenty of self esteem and was a natural siren with an addictive personality that drew people in, just like the drug.

In a way, Rin wanted to be like her.

"Thank you." she spoke earnestly. Instead of a hug, the Panda Hero roughly messed up Rin's blonde hair with a cocky grin.

* * *

><p><strong>This was a hard chapter to write o But It's longer than the others, so I hope that makes up for it! More clarification about to Panda Hero, ect. Len doesn't seem to like her at all though, right? xD Review to tell me what you thought! After all, the more reviews, the more motivated I'll be to type up the next chapter. And trust me, there's going to be some big twists in this story ;D<strong>

**~Sabby-Sama**


	8. Chapter 8

**Panda Hero**

Chapter 8: Mystery Memory

_"Mommy, Daddy? Where are you?"_ a young girl cried out hysterically. Her small frame started to shudder as she violently coughed into her elbow, as she was tought to do.

The child ran to the best of her ability, stopping every now and then to catch her breath, only to choke on her own wheezes. She fidgeted with the collar of her fleece pajama top. It was so hot!

_"Hello?"_ the blonde girl shouted out again, her voice cracking at the end. She took a deep breath of the ashy air by her mouth, nose suddenly stuffy as if with a cold.

Vainly wiping soot off her face, only for it to mingle with her sweat, she trekked on in the familiar maze called home.

Something suddenly combusted in front of her, it's tiny but harmful embers stinging her pale, coal streaked face. She quickly turned away on a reflex and swatted at her face, tears finally letting loose.

Despite the flames, explosions, and the ominous creaking sounds, the young blonde girl fell to the floor in a helplessly innocent sobbing heap. She was curled into a ball, letting free everything that was building up earlier behind her eyes. The only reason she stopped herself from panicking and crying was because big girls weren't supposed to cry.

Suddenly, she stopped. What was that new sound amongst all the crackling and whooshing of spreading flames?

A low, painful moan. Whoever was making the sound was calling her name inbetween bouts of hacking.

Getting up on her hands and knees, she crawled to the source. She found it was easier to breath closer to the ground, but she still tried to cover her mouth and nose with her pajama top.

_"Honey? Sweetie, are you there?"_ the familiar woman called. The girl stopped at the doorway, eyes wide in horror.

The room was almost completely aflame. The devilish red light reflected onto the broken woman's face, flickering around her terrified glassy eyes mockingly.

She sobbed out loudly, _"Oh, thank God!"_ she shouted in relief, voice heavy with smog. The woman tried fidgeting underneath all the fallen rubble ontop of her to get closer to the girl.

_"You need to leave. NOW."_ she demanded, coughing. _"Don't let them get to you!"_ she ordered the child through gritted teeth. She cried out in pain as something fell onto her exposed leg. "Them"?

_"No! I won't leave!"_ the girl began to cry again. The woman's face visibly shattered at how distraught the little girl was.

_"Honey, you have to. Please, just go."_ she began to plead._ "I love you."_

"But Mommy-!" the girl protested. She couldn't just leave her there! The girl started to stand up and attempt at prying the remnants of ceiling off her mother, until the woman shouted, _"GO."_

She stumbled up and began to run away, not being able to look on anymore. From behind her, a loud _crack!_ and the room was consumed.

After what seemed like eons of racing through the large building, dodging the hazardous flames, she finally found a door.

Throwing it open, she ran down the stairs, and tripped in the process.

Falling onto the dewyness of the lawn, she fisted the grass in her small hands and began to shake and tremble again.

_"Hi!"_ someone called from above her. She looked up. Who. . .?

A boy who was a few years older than her towered over her, taller than he should be for his age. The only sign of any youth was his round-ish face and big green eyes.

He didn't look familiar at all. The large house behind them was completely on fire now and was swaying in the light winter breeze, ready to crumble at any moment.

He whistled as he gazed at the sunburst against the dark night sky.

_"That sucks."_ he said quietly, yet completely calmly as black scraggly hands were reaching out of the inferno's windows, ready to grab both of them and drag them inside.

He looked back down at the girl, who was completely confused._ "Why don't you come with me? Everything will be okay."_ he said neutrally with a friendly smile. The boy held out his hand.

Silently, she took it and hauled herself up. With one last teary-eyed look at the disinigrating house, she walked off with the boy as sirens wailed behind them.

* * *

><p>Rapidly sitting up, Rin clutched at her chest in a cold sweat. She heaved air in and out with difficulty, feeling the phantom heavyness in her lungs like the little girl in her dreams from the smoke.<p>

W-who was that little girl? Rin's heart ached for the poor child, even if she was a figment of her imagination. And her poor parents, considering her father was caught in the house also.

For a dream, it seemed so _real_. Even how she woke with the feeling of smog in her lungs and the flicks of fire warming her face. She swiped her palm down the length of her face, hand shaking.

And that slightly older boy was so. . .odd. Not in a weird type of odd, but, the way he acted in a situation like that.

Rin buried her head in her trembling hands, sweat soaked bangs sticking to her wrists. She must be so twisted to even dream about something so scary and frightening like that.

But, the more she tried digging into the memory of that dream, the more she got confused. Finally, she hit a mental dead-end. It was one of those strange dreams where, while you're having it, everything makes perfect sense and you know exactly whats going on. But the minute you wake up, all those little valuable details vanish and you're left with giant chunks that don't make sense when put together, like a shattered window frame. Shattered from the combustion of that house.

Finally she shook her head. She shouldn't dwell on it anymore, it was just. . . too disturbing to think about how that woman was practically crushed and than incinerated to death, while still alive.

. . .But, If she went back to sleep, what if that horrific nightmare replayed? This time more graphic than the last? Like hearing the crunch of the body and the gurgling, bubbling-like sound of it finally exploding under the heated rubble? The way that the little girl cried. . .it was just too much.

And somehow, it had an emotional connection with her.

Rin looked over to Rei, who was fast asleep and quite frankly deserved the rest. It wouldn't do him any good by waking him, stealing his precious rest for God knows what he does in the morning, since he was always gone.

"Hey." someone whispered in the darkness. Rin jumped, looking more like she was having a spazm. The sound of a cot crunching due to the movement of a body came from the corner of the alley.

"L-Len?" Rin stuttered, once again grasping at the fabric above her chest. What was Len doing here, creeping up on them in the dark?

. . .Oh yeah. Len lives with them. Duh.

"Why are you up?" she asked, trying to calm her irregular breathing, now intensified three fold from earlier.

Len got up from his alienated spot in the corner and sat on her cot, right next to her. Rin scooted away a little, uncomftorable with the current situation.

"Why are _you_ up?" he asked. "You were mumbling something in your sleep and then you screamed and shot up." was that worry slipping into his expression? Len was not one to be worrying over others. It's just not him.

It could be the darkness playing tricks with her eyes, Rin convinced herself.

But, talking and then screaming? She hadn't realised she had woken him with that, yet she wasn't surprised that she had, thanks to that horrific nightmare.

"Just a bad dream." Rin muttered back bluntly. She really didnt want to talk about it.

Len watched her for a moment and then slowly nodded. Surprisingly, the dense, blonde teen understood not to be nosey about it.

After a minute, Len asked "Are you afraid to go back to sleep?"

Well, yeah. Of course she was! Afraid wasn't the word to describe how she felt, though. More like _terrified._

Rin started to shake her head 'no.' She couldn't have Len thinking how weak she was, but eventually stopped and nodded 'yes'.

As if second thoughts were contagious, Len reached out a comforting hand to wrap around Rin's, but thought better of it and withdrew. "Then i'll stay up with you, alright?"

She looked at him. Why? That was just stupid of him. By the looks of it, he seemed extremely tired.

"Why? I mean, are you sure?" she asked, slightly concerned. She hadn't noticed Len's attempt of holding her hand earlier.

"Yep." he smirked, seeming to have reverted to his old self.

What Rin didn't know, was that behind his false grin, he was also terrified of drifting back into the world of sleep. For he also had a nightmare.

* * *

><p>That evening, the Panda Hero came by to get Rin. Len gave the older woman an attitude and in return, she smacked him on the shoulder with her bat.<p>

Rin and the Panda Hero left, walking shoulder to shoulder with Len sprawled on the ground behind them clutching his shoulder in exaggerated pain.

"Oh, shut up, Shota. You'll live." the woman chuckled over her shoulder.

Clattering up to their new hangout upon a roof overlooking a portion of the slums, the two did what they usual did. Talk.

The Panda Hero stopped mid-sentence to blow a bubble with the gum she was usually found chomping on.

Rin tilted her head, intrigued. She noticed that the woman's tongue wasn't green, like most other Panda users. Maybe she didn't eat the drug to get the effect, but took it another way?

Something still didn't make sense though. The blonde girl gazed at the woman's long tan legs dangling off the roof. Her eyes hovered over the rest of the woman's overly exposed flesh. Every inch was lightly tanned. And not a single squiggly icy vain in sight.

A giggle. "You alright over there Rin? You're like, drooling over me or something." the panda-eyed woman smirked lazily.

Rin furrowed her brows in deep thoughts. "Panda Hero. . ." she started. The teal-haired woman 'hmm'-ed in acknowledgment.

"How do you take Panda?" the teen asked curiously, looking down at her new bracelet so she won't seem too nosey.

Looking away, the cocky look was wiped off the woman's face. Instead, her jaw was set in total seriousness.

"You know what i've been thinking about? I got this little idea in mind." she replied to nothing in particular. It seemed like she was forcing her tone to sound breezy and care free. It came out not sounding right at all.

Rin shrugged to herself and leaned back on her hands as she scrutinized the smoggy horizon. She was ready to listen to whatever the older woman had to say, while keeping how suspicious she acted at the back of her mind.

"There's a certain place on the outskirts of the town," the woman started. Town? She was probably talking about the slums. "with a baseball field and everything!" she petted her bat lovingly.

Baseball? "Whats that?" Rin asked. The word was unfamiliar. Turning to her, the woman asked, "What, baseball?"

With the sheepish nod from Rin, the Panda Hero's jaw dropped. "You've never heard of the sport?" she asked again.

Sport. . .Boxing was a sport. Was this 'baseball' just boxing with the added 'baseball's' that she was talking about? If so, Rin might take a crack at it.

"Oh my God. . ." he teal haired woman whispered to herself, the single black rimmed eye going wide.

Rin panicked. Was she not cool now because she didn't know a baseball? "Wh-what, is that bad?" Rin blurted out.

Jumping up, the Panda Hero brought up her bat in the air, making the perfect batters position.

"Baseball is a game where you take a bat," she waved her stainless steel one around, "and swing it at a ball thats thrown at you." she explained. She swung the bat at an imaginary ball, quite comically. She raised her hand to her forehead and watched the imaginary ball fly into the sky and 'ooooh!'-ed.

Rin giggled to herself at her friend's rare show of childish-ness.

"Then," she began again. She raced around in a circle, "You run as fast as you can to these bases and then make it back to home plate." she concluded her explanation.

Flopping down in mock exhaustion, she sighed. "Phew, that was tiring!" and spread out her arms, only to drop them lifelessly.

"So we're going to play baseball, then?" Rin asked as she stumbled over the unfamiliar word. She was eager to try it, even if it didn't involve her fists.

Nodding, the woman answered her. "Yep. Everyone's going. Tonight."

Tonight? That was pretty short notice; she didn't even know about it! "When did you plan this?" Rin asked.

"Just now." the Panda Hero answered simply.

NOW? But how was she going to- "The whole clan is practically under my control. I'll work it out." the teal haired woman said with semi-finality.

Before another word could be said, the Panda Hero was up and climbing down the fire escape skillfuly. "Come on Rin!" she called up impatiently to the blonde teen.

* * *

><p><strong>I know I haven't updated in some time, so, think of this as an early Christmas gift! xD I purposely left some un-tied ends here; like what Len's dream was what was RIN'S dream about, and the little girl, and even how the baseball game goes. Not to mention how suspicious the Panda Hero acted. Hmm. But thats why you'll have to REVIEW TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! ;D<strong>

**~Sabby-Sama**


	9. Chapter 9

**Panda Hero**

Chapter 9: Changed

I lean back against the cruel stone wall with a faint smile. Last night's baseball game was. . .amazing!

When it was my turn to step up to the plate, gripping the Panda Hero's prized bat in my hands (an honor) I swung it with all my might at the oncoming baseball. A deep metallic thud followed as the ball sliced through the air with a whistle, I ran. After watching everyone on my team ahead of me step up to bat, I learned what to do and was no longer worried about running around the bases the opposite way.

The ball started to descend in the air until it bounced a couple of times on the ground outside the rusty fence circling the field. I kept on running.

When I got to the makeshift home base (which is a pole from the fence topped with a hand-sewn glove) it was then that I was told I hit a homerun. At first I didn't know what that meant, I was just so excited that I ran across the beaten bases. But when I heard how amazing it is to get a homerun and got a point for the team, I just wanted to step up to bat again.

I feel my upper arms and the rigid bumps of muscle. Years of boxing definetly helps.

Boxing. . .It will always be my favorite thing in this crummy life of mine. Now it has competition, with Baseball being in second place.

I'm actually surprised that the amount of people that showed up actually did. It definetly wasnt the amount at the Arena, since the field was smaller, but there were a lot of "Panda Zombies" looking on and making a weak attempt to cheer on the two teams.

The Panda Hero really does know how to get people to listen to her. I admire her for that and so many other things. Speaking of, she was the pitcher for both teams and has a talent for it, too.

Now i'm in Kaito's tiny shack of a home, practicing my kicks after I raise myself from the ground. Len's watching, deeply concentrating. He's no doubt trying to learn a few moves to use on the Panda Hero. It's so obvious how much he doesn't like her. I don't know why though, she a good frien-

"Hey, blondie." Len suddenly speaks, breaking off my thoughts. I continue thrusting my knee into the bag.

He continues, "Where'd you get that bracelet?" he nods at my wrist where my gift from the Panda Hero hangs from my tiny wrist.

That's right, he doesn't know. I suddenly feel guilty at not telling him anything.

"The Panda Hero got it for me." I respond softly, knowing how he'll react. It's not like I can lie. Afterall, where would I say I got it from?

I can practically hear him grind his molars into a white powder. Rolling my eyes I sigh inwardly, preparing for his rude comments.

He stands to lean against the wall, making himself comfortable as he waits for me to explain like the stubborn player he is.

Well, okay, he's not much of a player. He still hasn't gotten a girl yet even though the slums aren't such a suitable place for looking for one. But he still acts like one.

Switching to punching, I decide to out wait him. Two can play at the stubborn game, where i'll always be the winner.

"Why." he demands, more than asks politely.

"What happened to manners, Shota?" I retort. This immedietly angers Len and he sends the side of his fist into the wall with force. I try to stop a giggle from escaping when I see him cringe in pain from his own stupidity.

He recovers quickly and shakes his head ruefully. "She's changed you." he says with a hard expression on his face.

Stopping, I turn to watch him in confusion, then in anger. "Why do you not like her, Len?" I ask loudly. There was no reason to hate her!

He doesn't listen. "You're her minion, a bitch like her." he says evenly.

I'm at a loss for words. Where was all this coming from? Len is just blind to how good of a friend the Panda Hero is! Len would _never_ say something like this.

"How can you say that to me?" I stutter, still astounded from being called that word. "It's not like you at all!"

Len walks over to me and looks into my eyes, a short distance away from me. I look away from his serious gaze.

"How can you say that to ME?" he asks in return. "You know how much I can't stand that." he says, a sliver of hurt in his voice that rivals the steely look in his eyes, which match the exact hue of mine.

My shoulders slump at how awful that was of me. All that guilt suddenly goes out the window that Kaito's shack doesn't have at what Len says next.

"She's a whore and a horrible influence Rin. You're just like her now and thats something I can't stand to see."

Sapphire once again meets sapphire as I stare him down, daring to take a step closer to him.

"How dare you." I say in a low snarl that surprises me. He blinks in shock. I continue, making sure my tone is softer. "I'm my own person, and you have no right to say that about her." I say.

Len stares at me for a while, almost in disappointment. Licking his lips, he responds. "I have every right when my Rin is now twisted and contorted."

I blink rappidly, appalled. What was that supposed to mean? Not just the twisted and contorted part, but about me being his. Since when? I never agreed on that. Len likes me, yeah I realized that since Day One, but now i'm his possession? I don't think so.

"You don't spend time with me anymore Rin, like you used to before." I open my mouth to say that he was practically forced to tag along with me, but stop myself from inerrupting his speech. I refrain from hanging my head in shame, since after awhile I actually enjoyed his company in a way.

Dropping his voice to a heartbroken whisper, I can't help but wonder what happend to Len.

"What happened to sweet, quiet, shy and easily embarrassed Rin that I met that day?" Len asked quietly referring to the day in the interogation room. He begins to search my eyes as if that Rin was hiding under the pool of clear Carribean. He wasn't going to find anything, because i'm still that same Rin.

I can't help but slightly blush at him describe me like that, but I immedietly clench my fists at the stupid warmth on my cheeks. I'm supposed to be angry at him.

He grins slightly, that familiar twinkle sparking in his eyes. "See, that's the Rin i'm talking about." he chuckles slightly. "She's still there, under all the contamination from the Panda Hero."

That last comment flooded my cheeks with fire, not from being flattered, but the complete opposite. I need to go before I do something drastic like smash that pretty boy face in with my fist.

To stop myself, I walk out of the dipping concrete building and into the rain. Rain, it must have started while I was practicing.

Feeling foolish at being stranded in the rain with no where to go, I just sit on the cold, but dry, spot under the tin awning nearby. My blonde hair is slightly damp and raindrops roll down my forehead onto my cheeks, cooling off my agitation.

Why can't I just be left alone? Len's footsteps can be heard through the rain nearing me.

Sitting down next to me, he stays quiet for a moment as if thinking what to say. The rain is fast and heavily pounding the top of the weak awning as if it were boulders instead of measley water. Looking out, I can tell that the sky is gray, like the Panda Hero's bat, with an occasional streak of blue. The harsh showers give an odd illusion of television static, which i've seen only once from a TV in Headquarters.

The sound soon gets to me and I cringe as I hear a sharp pang and a groan, suddenly cautious of the top caving in and drenching gallons of freezing rain on me. He looks over to me, obviously thinking that his horrid presence is the cause of my shudder.

"I'm. . ." he stops and huffs. "I shouldn't have said all that back there."

Atleast I know he hasn't completely changed back there. Typical Len never says the word 'sorry'. I look the other way and tap my foot in a nearby muddy puddle, just ignoring him.

He notices that i'm not up to talking, so he goes on. "Things have been kind of rough."

Life in the slums isn't like going on vacation to somewhere magnificent. Everyone has to deal with the unfortunate grind daily, not just you Mr. Perfect.

"It's. . . it's the first year anniversary of my parents death today." he says softly and quickly clears his throat just when another pang is heard from above in hopes of covering the sound.

Oh. I remember when I first met him in the questioning room at HQ. He went insane and started to rave about how his parents were shot and murdered in cold blood. The rage and sadness in his eyes were just. . .

But Len was only here for about half a year. How is that even possible?

As if reading my thoughts, he answers. "I was out on the streets for a while until I got accepted into the clan. It's so much better here. Safer." he says, eyes glazing over as he watches my foot in the puddle.

"It was horrible out there in the wild, especially for a kid. Everyone is out to get the weak." he continues.

Before I can say anything, he starts to talk again. Snapped out of his dream-like state, he bends his knees up, leans back, and crosses his arms on them.

Looking up, he begins to say something that catches me off guard. "These dreams that I have don't help, either. About the night that they were murdered." his voice cracks near the end.

I've never seen Len like this. This was just something so bizarre that I thought never exsisted in him, not even behind that cool barrier.

"But recently, they've turned into being about fire right after I see my mom shot squarely in the chest. Its weird, because there was nothing about fire that night. I'm sure of it."

Fire? Maybe I should bring up my dream.

"Was there a boy with brown hair and green eyes?" I ask as calmly as I can, trying not to alert anything suspicious.

I know there won't be any connection, but hey, I figured this is how I can get into the topic about my dream. Ever since that night, I never told Len about it and I just have to get it off my chest.

He quickly looks at me, eyes wide."How'd you know?"

I didn't know. I didn't even think there would have been! I try to say something, but I can't.

Finally, I croak out a few words, suddenly feeling the phantom smoke filling my lungs again. "I had a dream like that too. The night I woke you."

Len looks back up again and chuckles. I'm not sure if it's because his neck is outstretched, but it sounds strained.

"I was up way before you started screaming. That was the first night I had the dream and it was. . .horrible." he forces out.

I know how bad it was, even after I woke up.

"I was scared shitless, it felt like my skin was melting because of the heat." he says.

Now I just want him to stop talking about it. I want him to make a suave comment about anything that'll make me want to kick him. But he was using profanity again, which is a good sign of him returning back to himself. Or atleast try to lessen the mood.

As if sensing I don't want to continue with the topic, he just stays silent. And it's an awkward silence.

I decide to go to my little hiding spot as something to do. Once I remove the worn out brick, I stop.

Whipping around, I scowl at Len. "You took my money!" I shout, furious.

Shock takes over his features. "What? I would _never_ do that!" he defend himself as he stands to face me.

I shake my head stubbornly. Who else would have known where I kept all my hard earned money that i've been saving for ages? Len was the only one who knew and I thought I can trust him enough with that.

"Then who? You're the only one I've ever shown!" I scream. "I thought I could trust you." I say softer, dissapointment taking over my anger.

I suddenly notice someone coming our way. I stop and watch, curious. Len notices my distraction.

Someone was stumbling up our alleyway, but still somehow managing to stay upright. I squint. It's hard to see through the heavy rain.

Soon, the unidentifiable black blob shows some more features and details as it gets closer.

"Hey. . .What's all the noise about?" the man asks in a flat tone, void of life.

No, no no. It can't be. He. . .he wouldn't!

My arms go slack as does my jaw in disbelief. I somehow regain enough strength to clench my blonde hair in my fists in madness, the familiar acidic sting of tears quickly rimming my eyes. My breathing hitches at an unsafe speed as I hold back a mixture of screams and choking sobs.

I-it's Rei. But, it's not him.

Rei, my brother and the only one I love on this planet. . .

He stands there, confused as to what's going on, what he's done to himself.

He stands there, grey corpse complexion glowing sickly in the rain. His eyes that were once a lush, vibrant with life forest are nothing but a bleak green. The black shadows haunting, unforgiving. A network of ice branches out in all directions from under his translucent skin.

Injection.

* * *

><p><strong>I had to retype this THREE TIMES because my laptop kept getting overheated and decided to shut off -_- But anyways, what do you guys think? I've been wanting to experiment in differen't POV's for a while now. I think the next chapter might be in Len's POV and will be his memories before this chapter. Sound cool? I want to add differen't characters views in this story so it's paints a bigger picture and understanding. Might also add other Vocaloids as minor characters, also. And i'm soooo sorry this is late, really! D: Review and tell me what you thought!<strong>

**~Sabby-Sama**


	10. Chapter 10

**Panda Hero**

Chapter 10: Secrets

Nothings better than being left alone. I roll my eyes, kick some stray rubble and watch it skid over the broken concrete.

"Oh, hey Len." someone spoke. Turning, I stick my hands in my pockets lazily.

I nod my head at the crazy-eyed girl. The redness around her nostrils was one of the obvious signs of Panda use. It was almost funny how the shade exactly matched that of her hair. "'Sup, Teto."

Teto got a dreamy look across her face. I try holding back a grimace at the strange girl who had a crush on me. I didn't even know her that well. I was just in HQ one day with Rin and Kaito when she walked in. The minute she laid her eyes on me (and when Kaito told her my name, like an idiot) she's been trying to stalk me.

Before she could ramble on about her day and try to flirt with me, I speak up, "Hey, have you seen blondie?"

The Panda Hero just cattily swiped Rin away from me without a word and I had no idea where she went. Just walking around the alleys mindlessly gets boring after awhile, ya' know.

"Why are you looking for her?" Teto practically spats, anger weakly surfacing in those cloudy eyes.

I look at her crossly "Just tell me." I demand, not having patience for her right now. She obviously knows where Rin would be. Not only does she freakishly keep tabs on me, but also on Rin. After all, blondie is her competition for my heart. Ha, if only she knew.

"HQ. With the Panda Hero." she finally answered.

I turn away from the odd girl and continue my journey down the alleyway, heading straight for the square in the middle of the clan.

"Len!" Teto calls from behind me. I ignored her desperate call and continued on, slightly quickening my pace.

_The hell?_ I asked myself at the swarm of people in the square outside of the main building. There were shouts and an occasional fight here and there. It appeared to be a rebelling mob.

A familiar voice that made me puke a bit in my mouth rang out from a megaphone. "Calm down, you idiots! Everyones gonna get served; as long as you have the right payment, of course." I could just hear that slutty smirk of her's through the metalic boom of the megaphone.

I went up on my toes, cursing my height in the process as I tried to look over various heads to the front of the Headquarters building. I jabbed my elbow into someone who dared to shove me back amongst the chaos of the rowdy crowd.

I squinted my eyes; not because I couldn't make out what was going on in the distance, but because of the fishy scene.

The Panda Hero was standing on top a wooden crate that seemed to tremble and weaken under her weight with every shout she boomed into the crowd. I crossed my fingers and prayed that it would break into pieces, giving her lethal splinters deeply ebbed into her flesh.

She was waving her arms around in excitement while there was a greedy look in her eyes as the Panda induced civilians waved back their 'payments'.

I eventually got closer up so I could see better. My mouth dropped when I saw tiny, innocent Rin beside the drug dealer on the crate. I saw her look up to the Panda Hero inquistively, unsure about what to do. The teal haired woman pulled Rin up to the wooden box by her hands while she jumped off it.

I could see the Panda Hero speak to Rin and gesture with her hands at the insane crowd. This must be the only time I had ever seen those lifeless people so riled up.

"Tell them to step up." I could read her lips from where I was standing. It was one of the most important skills that I picked up during my time on the streets to survive.

Rin nodded and repeated the order to the hunched over man wobbling in front of her. The angle that I was standing was perfect, the man's back wasn't to me so I can see his thin lips form the words, "I ask of you please." he slightly stepped back and knelt down on his frail knee's. Bowing his head, he held out his offering up to Rin like a lowly peasant would to a God.

A thread of shock splayed on Rin's face at the man's sudden action. She nervously looked to the Panda Hero for assistance.

With a nod from the dealer in confirmation to the offering, Rin took the bottle of booze and handed it to the Panda Hero. Rin bent down to the side of her and lifted a small bag and placed it into the man's open hands.

Black powder. Panda.

Why was Rin doing this? Helping the Panda Hero distribute this horrible drug so willingly? I didn't even know this was how the Panda Hero gave out the drug, even though she's been here for a while. That combined with the mind blowing feeling of seeing Rin hand out these bag's of Death itself. . .

Wait. I know that person. A familiar head of light brown fluff that stood out amongst the other heads of grungy hair bobbed and weaved through the crowd. I watched it carefully travel around the perimeter of the whole sea of people and break through to the front.

Apparently, The Panda Hero noticed too. She stared at where the person obscured by the rest of the crowd was standing. Nodding in agreement to something it must have said, she discreetley jerked her head to the side entrance of HQ. After watching Rin continue the routine flawlessly, she snuck to the side door of the building and waited for the person.

I held my breath and brought in my lower lip, chewing on it anxiously as I clenched my fists in concentration, simply waiting for the person to emerge from the crowd.

And when they finally did, I was confused more than anything.

Rei.

But. . .That made no sense. What would he have to do with her? Last time I checked, he hated her STD riddled guts just as much as I did.

Rei began to open the door but stopped. His eyes ran over Rin, as did the Panda Hero's. He then looked out into the crowd which gave me the sudden urge to duck out of sight, even though I knew it was already impossible for him to spot me. Disappearing into the building, the Panda Hero followed behind with the small bags in her hands.

At that time, I would have thought nothing over the Panda in her hands. But now, now I know better.

That must have been the first time Rei decided to do Panda. Just be looking at him it was obvious he didn't have any of the effects, which appear practically overnight after the first time using it.

If only I had known sooner.

* * *

><p><em>I wonder what Len's doing. . .<em> I thought as I walked behind the Panda Hero. She was skipping and twirling infront of me. It wasn't the childish and girly type of spinning and skipping, but more of the seducing kind.

He looked pretty upset when I left him. Again. I know without a doubt, that he's jealous of the Panda Hero, since it seems like she gets to spend the most time with me nowadays. Thats why he hates her so much; because she's apparently taking me away from him.

But really, I'm with him almost 24/7. Couldn't he survive ten minutes without me being constantly by his side?

The Panda Hero said she had a gift to give me. Why? I didn't even know. When I tried to ask her why she gave me the bracelet around my wrist a while ago, she simply responded with a suspicious, 'just because'.

I wonder what it was now. Maybe a necklace to match the panda charm on my wrist? Or food. There's not much of it down here in the dumps. Sometimes I go days without eating. Same for Len. I'm not really sure about Rei since he's never around, as always. I bet the Panda Hero has tons of it somewhere in HQ though. She has connections.

"Ok, close your eyes!" The woman with the black-rimmed eye snapped me out of my day dream about delicious food.

Obediently, I covered my eyes with my hands. "What is it now, Panda Hero?" I asked curiously. She clucked her tongue. "No questions!" she scolded.

I sighed, but laughed anyways. I pretended to peep through my fingers until she flicked my nose. "No, no." she said.

I could hear her shoes smack the pavement/concrete mixture under us, my mind mapping out where in my surroundings she was heading. It sounded like she was going further down the alley and rounded a corner nearby, going past some rundown, poor excuses of shelter.

What was taking so long? I had thought to myself, growing impatient with my eyes still shielded. I removed my hands from my face.

Oh, how funny. She left me here alone. I snort lightly. Instead of calling out her name, I round the corner where she disappeared to see if she was possibly standing there, waiting for me with a huge mocking grin.

Stopping immedietly, I backed up and pressed my back against the wall, while cautiously looking around the corner. The Panda Hero was talking to herself.

"Now isn't the time for this crap." I heard her growl, completely annoyed. There was a pause as I leaned in a bit closer to hear better. She angrily raked her hand through her long ponytail.

"Yes, she's fine obviously!" she suddenly shouted, but stopped and lowered her voice mid-sentence, remembering that I was supposed to be around the corner.

I was completely muddled. Who was she talking to? And most importantly, who was she talking _about_? Fear suddenly hit me. I desperatley hoped it wasn't the Panda getting to her brain. I don't know what I would do if-

She suddenly whipped around in agitation. Thankfully, she wasn't fully facing me because I wouldn't have been able to react that quick. I was frozen in my spot. I've never seen her like this before. It had to be the Panda.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. I know how to do my job." She sneered, fingers tips pressed to her forehead. That was when I had seen her gripping the top of her tank with her other hand as she spoke into it. I scrunched my eyebrows. If that wasn't bizarre, than nothing was.

I squinted my eyes to inspect closer. There was something black poking out from her shirt that she was directly talking into. I knew for a fact it wasn't her bra (which was neon green and shone through her shirt) but it was something i've never seen before in the slums.

"I have to go now." And with that, she rudely stuffed the object back underneath her scanty top.

I swiftly peel off the wall I was leaning against and dash to my previous spot, quickly covering my eyes again.

Just as she rounded the corner to near me, I ask "Panda Hero? You done yet?" as calmly as I can despite all the thoughts appearing out of oblivion in my mind.

"Open your eyes." she instructs, almost no joy in her voice like before. If anything, she sounded peeved.

She brought her hands out from behind her back to show off a headband as pure and white as snow, with a giant bow on top.

It was so pretty. I stretched out my hand to stroke the velvety bow. I've never seen something so. . .clean and promising before. I looked at the Panda Hero, a bit choked up.

"Is this really for me?" I croak pathetically. Not to say my bracelet was a crumby gift, but this headband was by far better. It was a luxury item, something you'd feel honoured to wear around here.

She grinned, obviously pleased. "'Course. Here, let me put it on." Just as she was about to take my hair out of it's short ponytail (which I forgot to take down after practicing some kicks earlier), she surprised me with something.

"You know, you look a lot like Len with your hair up." she said thoughtfully. Wow, did she just actually talk about Len without puking?

"Well, he does have short hair tied up too. . ." I responded. Now that she mentioned it, I guess I kind of do. We have the same eyes, too.

I shrug it off. "Like you're mirror images." the Panda Hero continues as she pulls out the elastic. She suddenly laughed. "It's God's way of saying you were made for each other." she teased.

I stiffen at the comment. Never in a million years! She finally placed the bow neatly in my hair and pulls out a tiny mirror from the pocket of her short shorts.

Gazing into the mirror, I can't help but think how good the bow looks on me. Not to sound vain or anything. I hugged her.

"Thank you." I say into her shoulder.

She pulls away. "Alright, enough with the love fest. I know how great I am." she smirks. Laughing, I nod in agreement.

"Come on, we got a job to do." and with that she starts down the alleyway ahead of me again.

_A job?_ I thought.

* * *

><p><strong>Writers Block is a pain in my butt =w= I've had this idea in my head for the longest time, but I just couldn't get it typed up. Anyways, This is set<em> before <em>the discovery of Rei abusing Panda. The first point of view is Len's, the second is Rin's. The events of the two views happen on the same day, Rin's before Len's :]**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**~Sabby-Sama**


End file.
